After numerous leaks, Ubisoft has finally made it official: Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be released on Nintendo Switch 2 on December 2 for $59.99 / £49.99.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version includes all content updates since the game’s launch, as well as cross-progression across all platforms and touchscreen support, “making navigation through menus, maps and the hideout more intuitive than ever.”
Ubisoft also confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a keyed card game, meaning Switch 2 players will need to download it before they can play it. Game key cards have sparked heated debate because they are essentially useless unless the console is connected to the Internet.
In September, a Ubisoft developer who worked on the Nintendo port Outlaws from Star Wars defended the operate of key cards in the gameclaiming that the real reason the Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws uses a Game-Key Card is due to the console’s data transfer speed and the speed at which the hardware can read information from specially designed cartridges compared to games downloaded to the console’s internal memory.
Later in September, Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi suggested that developers are choosing Game-Key Cards not necessarily for price, but for performance, as the format allows them to run games more smoothly on the Switch 2. Nintendo recently conducted a survey designed to poll the Switch 2 user base on their thoughts on digital and physical gaming.
In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you choose between Shinobi or Samurai and explore the open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castles and bustling ports to peaceful temples and pastoral landscapes. IGN Assassin’s Creed Shadows review returned 8/10. We said: “By sharpening the edges of existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creates one of the best versions of the open world style it has perfected over the last decade.”
He reported this to IGN earlier this week The head of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Marc-Alexis Côté, has left Ubisoft after a career spanning over 20 years. Just days later, Côté made it clear that his shocking departure from Ubisoft was not his decision.
In a post on LinkedIn, Côté stated that he had “no hard feelings” but wanted to make it clear to former colleagues and fans that he did not abandon the Assassin’s Creed series after 15 years of his own free will. The news came just two weeks after Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft’s biggest franchise, was acquired by Vantage Studios, a separate business unit created by Ubisoft with 25% ownership from Chinese giant Tencent who will now oversee all future Far Cry and Rainbow Six games.
Vikki Blake is an IGN reporter, critic, columnist and consultant with over 15 years of experience working with some of the world’s largest gaming sites and publications. She is also a Guardian, a Spartan, a Silent Hillian, a Legend, and an eternally High Chaos. Find her on Blue Sky.
